One Night In July
by AmeliaGallifrey
Summary: House, Cuddy and Wilson attend the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Contains a tiny hint of Huddy. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: Everything recognisable is the property of either Fox or JK Rowling, except for Sue Upton from Pottercast, who belongs to herself.

**One Night in July**

It looks more like Weasley's Wizard Wheezes than Honeydukes, really.

House stands, motionless, in the middle of the candy bar, as Wilson flits around him, piling up two baskets with every type of snack food imaginable. Jelly beans, Junior Mints, sherbert bombs, giant novelty Sugar Quills and three Hagrid-sized buckets of promotional Butterbeer, which is presumably cream soda. Hopefully.

The entire cinema is buzzing; bunches of teenagers in robes brandishing wands, middle-aged professionals like the two of them wearing dorky grins and duelling, shouting out spells, magical creatures, anything. It's an amazing atmosphere, a huge clock hanging over the ticket counter counting down to one minute past midnight. Wilson is jumpy, tugging at the blue and yellow scarf looped around his neck.

"Cut it out, Ernie Macmillan!" House nudges him as they pile their candy on the counter. The teenager behind it grins in a most un-teenagerly fashion, and raises an approving eyebrow at House's t-shirt, emblazoned in silver with 'Wit Beyond Measure...' Having forked over the cash, they shuffle over to the queue, and Wilson scans the crowd, beginning to panic.

"Relax, Finch-Fletchley, she'll get here."

"We shoulda picked her up, why didn't we pick her up?"

"Oh, shut it, Pomona!"

A bunch of college kids ahead of them break into a rousing rendition of the Hogwarts school song, and House joins in, while Wilson compulsively unravels a thread from his scarf.

She is pink-cheeked when she appears, sporting green and silver, and one of the college kids, a tall blond, says hey as she falls in beside them. She grins back, before House scowls and manages to step directly in the boys' view.

"Finally! Longbottom here was freakin' out."

Lisa Cuddy raises an eyebrow at Wilson, who shrugs.

"Neville is in Gryffindor, House. He is not a Hufflepuff."

"He's an honorary 'Puff. Ask anyone. Ask Sue Upton. Where you been, anyways?"

He hands her a Butterbeer and a box of Every Flavor Beans, watching closely as she pops one into her mouth, deftly ignoring his question.

"Cherry!"

"You're lucky."

"Hmmm."

Meanwhile, Wilson is staring at Cuddy as if he has never met her before.

"You're... you're Slytherin?"

She nods, nonplussed.

"Since when?"

It is House who answers.

"Since always, Hannah Abbott!"

Cuddy scans the crowd, delight colouring her face.

"This is amazing!" She grins, scanning the kids in robes, the adults, the serious cosplayers. Her eyes follow their inexorable path to settle on an incredibly tall, swooping and swishing Severus Snape; the cosplayer raising his wand in a salute as she waves. House scowls again.

"Damn Slytherins."

Cuddy only scowls wickedly in return, sipping her Butterbeer.

"Oh, man, this is gonna be insane!" Wilson is literally hopping on the spot, throwing Every Flavor Beans down his throat maniacally. Cuddy squeezes his arm.

"The Unbreakable Vow! Spinner's End, Wilson! Narcissa! Oh my goodness, Narcissa!"

"Sectumsempra, dude. This is gonna be hardcore." House nods solemnly, slinging an arm loosely around her shoulders.

"No inter-house relations, House." Wilson mutters, even though, amongst the college kids, a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff are necking not three feet away.

They have good seats, smack-bang in the middle of the overcrowded cinema. Kids and adults are grinning and laughing alike, and somewhere toward the back someone is singing an off-key medley of wizard rock classics. House and Cuddy join in with enthusiasm for 'Accio Love', and Wilson shakes his head, smiling ruefully at the honey-blonde Hufflepuff in the seat next to his. Her friends, one in a lion hat, snicker and roll their eyes, but the blonde grins back. Four rows ahead, Chase and Cameron turn back to wave, and Chase, Slytherin beanie pulled low over his overlong hair, throws Cuddy a thumbs-up gesture. As House turns to Cuddy, ready to mock her chosen house and fellow Slytherins, silence descends. Finally, after eight months' worth of agonising delay, the lights go down.


End file.
